Quilting a Comfort Quilt Finish

One of the first things I did when I got my new Bernina 770QE, on November 19, was play with quilting. My Comfort Quilt top - made during Amy Ellis's AmysCreativeSide quilt-along - has been ready for quilting since June.

This 72" X 95" quilt was the perfect opportunity to play with all kinds of quilting!

As I started quilting, I first used the walking foot (came with the 770QE) to stabilize a row of blocks. Then, curious about the dual feed feature, I tried quilting with it and the standard #1D foot to stabilize another row of blocks... and couldn't tell any difference between the walking foot and dual feed! It's a toss-up as to which is better.

My Bernina dealer, Sharky's Vac 'n Sew in Wildwood, included a Queen Supreme Slider with my machine, to help with the slide-ability of the quilt.

For free motion, I began quilting with the Bernina Stitch Regulator (BSR). It works fine... except I don't work well with it! My theory is - and some other quilters agree with me - that however you learn to free motion quilt... well, that's the method you will do best/prefer.

Bernina Stitch Regulator

It's certainly true for me. I learned free motion quilting in the late 1990s, long before machines had regulated stitches. So, I find the BSR limiting. Still, I used the #2 BSR option to quilt an entire section of the quilt. 

I was especially pleased about being able to use my #72 ruler foot on this new machine, even though it was purchased for my Bernina 440QE. The 10" harp (distance between the sewing machine needle and the body of the machine), and the flat sewing machine bed makes ruler quilting easier. 

I use Quilter's Rule quarter-inch thick nested circles. 

As pretty as it is to quilt circles, I don't recommend quilting concentric circles - too many starts and stops... and thread-burying.

I used an arc-shaped ruler to quilt curves in one section.

Then I added an echo foot to the ruler foot, as a guide for repeating the curves.

A set of echo feet, for a ruler foot, is about $10.

This section is also ruler quilting using a straight edge ruler. 

The clear #29 foot from my Bernina 440QE also works on the 770QE. I'm happy about that because this is the foot I tend to use most often. 

Free motion quilting, without marking, is my favorite way to quilt.

Waves change directions around each plus sign.

Hooked swirls are quilted all over these plus signs. 

To piece the backing, I used a leftover bit wide-back that wasn't wide enough! These triangle-shaped prints remained from piecing another quilt backing, and worked well to stretch the back to the size needed.

Binding fabric was an Alison Glass piece, won in a online giveaway. It has many different designs on it, and I think each was meant to be cut out as a 5" X 5" charm. But I like the way the prints change along the edges. 

The pattern for this Comfort Quilt is in Amy Ellis's book Modern Heritage Quilts.

Comfort Quilt, 72" X 95"

For being a twin size Comfort Quilt, this is especially long. I'll have to find a tall person to gift it to! Linda